ITHACA, N.Y.—The start date for the murder trial of William L. Marshall has been moved to January 2023, the Tompkins County District Attorney’s office confirmed on Friday. Marshall is on trial for the alleged killing of Alan Godfrey, a local community center worker, in July 2021.
The trial was initially anticipated to start in August 2022 after Marshall was charged earlier this year in March, but to allow more preparation time and due to scheduling conflicts for defense attorney Ray Schlather and Judge Joseph Cassidy, the trial has been bumped. Schlather also has a scheduling conflict from a prior trial which contributed to the delay, he said. Defense motions are due in mid-September.
Marshall is charged with second-degree murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He already pled not guilty at his first appearance in March.
Details of the crime are still scarce, except that it occurred in the early hours of July 20, 2021, around Pete’s Convenience Store on Taughannock Boulevard. A separate federal complaint against Marshall, for which he was convicted and sentenced to 33 months in prison on drug and weapons charges, mentioned that the type of gun used during the crime was not found during a raid of Marshall’s apartment, spurred on by suspicion about his involvement in Godfrey’s death.
Several Freedom of Information Law requests regarding different aspects of the case have been denied by the City of Ithaca due to either an “ongoing/active investigation” or fears that releasing more information would compromise Marshall’s chance at receiving a fair trial locally.